Triggers: Proposing a More Biblical Construct (Part 1)

In today’s lingo, the term “trigger” is commonly used to describe something that provokes a strong cognitive, emotional, or physical reaction, which is often related to past experiences, traumatic events fears or deeply held beliefs or attitudes.¹ Biblical counselors have traditionally encouraged caution and wisdom in embracing and using terms that are not specifically described or defined in the Bible. The term “trigger” is one such descriptive term. Thus, biblical counselors should strive to help counselees think about their experiences and “triggers” using biblical terms and categories.

Part 1 of “Triggers: Proposing a More Biblical Construct” will help us understand how and why the term is used in modern cultural and counseling vernacular. Part 2 will show how the term is not always a biblical or helpful way to refer to the painful experiences of a counselee and will propose biblical terms and categories that more accurately describe the suffering of “triggered” counselees.

How Counselors and the Culture Use the Term “Trigger”

The term is used in a variety of ways. It can refer to things in one’s environment that provoke a strong reaction. Loud bangs or fireworks may be a trigger for a combat veteran to experience flashbacks or a strong emotional response. Sometimes the term trigger refers to the event itself (“fireworks are a trigger for my flashbacks”), and sometimes it refers to the response (“I am triggered by fireworks”). “Trigger” may also refer to something that initiates or intensifies the symptoms of an addiction or a psychological diagnosis, which are patterns of habitual living according to the flesh. For example, eating a chocolate-covered cherry with cordial in it may trigger an individual enslaved to alcohol to relapse into a binge drinking episode. Or sleep deprivation may potentially trigger a manic episode in someone diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Most commonly, the concept describes the broad range of phenomena (e.g., words, sounds, smells, images, memories, circumstances, etc.) that are associated with a person’s past experience, troubles, or affliction. These events or experiences, when re-encountered in the present, seem to provoke (i.e., trigger) a reflexive and uncontrollable response. Bessel van der Kolk, the author of The Body Keeps the Score, suggests that “these reactions are irrational [not cognitively conscious responses] and largely outside people’s control … people’s physical reactions are dictated by the imprint of the past.”²

Are responses truly dictated as van der Kolk suggests? Are they as determined and automatic as he would have us believe? I think it is more accurate to say that one’s past experiences may influence responses, but past experiences do not absolutely determine the present responses. While they may look and feel dictated and uncontrollable, the process of ‘putting off, renewing the mind, and putting on’ (Ephesians 4:22-24) is God’s powerful antidote to overcoming the effects of past experiences of trials and suffering. In fact, the Bible says that, by God’s grace, past trials and suffering can produce joy, perseverance, character and hope (Romans 5:1-5), as well as endurance and maturity (James 1:2-4). Suffering does not inevitably lead to fear, anger, and confusion (e.g., Genesis 50:20; Job 1:20-22; Lamentations 3:1-26; 2 Corinthians 1:8-10).

Why Counselors and the Culture Use the Term “Trigger”

The origin of these assertions about automatic responses can be largely traced to the Polyvagal theory (PVT) of how the nervous system works.³ Greg Gifford observes that what these theories do not account for is the highly interpretive nature of mankind. “The BKS [Body Keeps the Score] position omits the soul as the originator of the interpretation of the trauma and thus leaves out a core anthropological component … Van der Kolk emphasizes the body’s role in responding to trauma, but omits the role of the inner person. He presents a body-first anthropology.”⁴

In other words, as Gifford points out, we do not experience affliction and trauma without thought, emotion, interpretation, and response. When a person survives a horrible car accident while driving at high speeds on the freeway, they will likely experience fear (maybe even debilitating fear) the next time they merge into traffic. They may even be fearful to drive for a while. Similarly, if you had to hide under your bed as a child whenever you heard the door slam because you feared your father’s sinful expression of anger, you might react with fear or anxiety to slamming doors for a long, long time after—even in completely different contexts. In both cases, however, the sufferer is thinking, feeling, and interpreting their past and present experiences based on their beliefs and understanding of the world.

To clarify our concern, the question is not whether our bodies may experience reflexive responses as a result of past experiences (we have all experienced these “influences”). The real question is to what extent these responses are determined and controlled by our bodies. Biblical counseling teaches that, by God’s grace, a person can alter those responses over time as they understand and interpret both their past and present through the lens of Scripture in cooperation and dependence on the transforming power of the Holy Spirit.⁵

Conclusion

We have shown that the term “trigger” is often used to describe what look like automatic responses of thought, emotion, and behavior. The term may describe the apparent phenomena of automatic bodily responses when used in a colloquial or idiomatic way. However, when used in a technical or therapeutic setting, the idea is largely informed by the Polyvagal theory of the body and the nervous system, a theory which ignores biblical truth about the heart and the inner man and relies on unproven theories of how the central nervous system works.⁶ The key to growth and sanctification for the Christian is not understanding one’s nervous system, but pursuing truth in the inner man in a way that informs the heart and transforms one’s responses.

Part 2 of this two-part article describes why using the term “trigger” is not a biblical or helpful way to describe these types of painful human experiences and proposes biblical terms and categories that can help counselees understand their experiences and more easily pursue God’s purposes and solutions.